
Top : Society : Issues : Education :
Standardized Testing
Websites
The Buros Institute, publishers of The Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print, provides critical analyses of tests and testing instruments.
site exerpt
Buros Center for Testing Introducing our INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES section...Essays that review news and magazine stories, from the politically conservative National Center for Policy Analysis
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/edu4a.html
A nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to preventing the misuse of standardized tests.
http://www.fairtest.org
Organization devoted to improving the rigor and clarity of the process of standard-setting and testing. Provides standard-setting and benchmarking services to states and districts.
http://www.achieve.org
The primary U.S. organization of measurement researchers and practitioners involved in educational testing.
http://www.ncme.org
Explanations of and counterarguments to often-used criticisms of standardized tests.
http://www.edexcellence.net/library/phelps.htm
The federally-funded Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing conducts research on topics related to K-12 educational testing.
http://cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/index.htm
ISC home page, headquarters for research on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), PIRLS, and other ISC projects.
http://www.timss.org/
The new Programme for International Student Assessment of the OECD, involves dozens of countries testing their 15 year olds' skills and knowledge as they approach the end of compulsory education.
http://www.pisa.oecd.org
EdTrust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, kindergarten through college.
http://www.edtrust.org/
A series of essays from the year 2000 that counter allegations made by standardized testing's opponents.
http://www.educationnews.org/tes..._bashing_series_by_richard_p.htm
Essays from the maker of the SAT, GRE and other well-known standardized tests.
http://www.ets.org/aboutets/issues.html
An association of professionals with responsibilities for administering assessment programs in K-12 public educational settings. A selection of their research papers and newsletters are available on the site.
http://www.natd.org
Provides education's consumers access to information and opinion independent of the education community and sympathetic to the consumer's concerns and priorities.
http://education-consumers.com
As home schooling grows as a movement, there is increasing political pressure to legislate and control home schoolers.
http://www.lessontutor.com/dw1.html
Essay on the positive "unintended consequences" of high-stakes testing.
http://www.educationnews.org/in_...efense_of_testing_series_uni.htm
Complete 1992 report from the former Office of Technology Assessement, now available in PDF format.
http://searchpdf.adobe.com/proxies/0/15/54/35.html
The unfair help given to students forced Lawrence, Kansas school officials to ask the state education department to throw out some test results.
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/19990722/FP_002.htm
The "Nation's Report Card" since 1969, assessments have been conducted on national samples of schools periodically in major subject areas.
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
Assessment issue directory from ECS, an organization formed through a bipartisan interstate compact to help state officials study education issues.
http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/issues.asp?am=1
Most American parents are being told by local schools that their children rank "above average" in both reading and math. Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/09/03/feat/feat.1.html
Made up of elected and appointed officials; oversees the content and operation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
http://www.nagb.org
Organization representing hundreds of colleges responsible for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the Advanced Placement (AP) program, and various equity efforts.
http://www.collegeboard.org
The organization responsible for the American College Test, required for admission to the public colleges in the majority of states; manages other tests and programs, too.
http://www.act.org
Reports, essays, and links from organization generally supportive of raising standards and measuring their achievement.
http://www.edexcellence.net/topics/standards.html
Wired News: Canadian educational software developer Gerry Morgan may have found a way to assess qualities such as creativity, insight, and teamwork.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,7571,00.html
Several dozen research reports from the maker of the SAT, GRE and other well-known tests. Reports are authored both by ETS researchers and invited critics.
http://www.ets.org/research/pic/pir.html
Article accusing a testing company of making scoring mistakes and then covering them up. New York Times. Requires registration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/2...iness/21EXAM.html?pagewanted=all
PDF format report from business/economic development group supportive of testing.
http://www.ced.org/docs/summary/summary_educ.pdf
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Equity Center position paper.
http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/booklets/educate/11.html
A comparison of the Texas TAAS test to other standards.
http://www.mathematicallycorrect.com/lonestar.htm
Television documentary focusing on the college-entrance Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/
Article accusing test development companies of inadequate staffing, quality control, and poor execution. Requires registration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/2...iness/20EXAM.html?pagewanted=all
Teachers discuss preparation for the new TAKS test in Texas.
http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/110501/new_keyto.shtml
Provides information on the appropriate use of testing in schools. Although testing is a valuable part of educational assessment, when tests are used in high-stakes circumstances, a number of safeguards must be in place.
http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/testing.html
The BOTA was created to assist policymakers and the public on issues of testing and assessment in education, the workplace, and the armed services.
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bota/
Site maintained by Peter Sacks, author of books and articles about standardized testing, intelligence testing and achievement testing in education and the workplace.
http://petersacks.org/
RealAudio stream of an NPR report on parents objecting to the use of standardized tests to promote or hold back students in public schools.
http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1068509
Summary of article challenging SAT opponents' logic, methods, and evidence.
http://www.stats.org/record.jsp?type=oped&ID=85
Discusses the reasons that some students have chosen to boycott mandatory state standardized tests. Seattle Press.
http://www.seattlepress.com/article-9151.html
Personal site of Richard Phelps which reviews over the books he has written and several other resources.
http://richardphelps.net/
This on-line journal provides education professionals access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, evaluation, and teaching practice.
http://pareonline.net/
Resolution passed at the NCTE 2000 annual meeting.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/p...tions/category/assess/107356.htm
Members of the National Council of Teachers of English pass a resolution to encourage continued research regarding the impact of high-stakes testing.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/level/elem/107357.htm
Does testing unfairly discriminate against minorities? The case of GI Forum, et al. v. Texas is being closely watched by educators nationwide. Law News Network
http://marces.org/mdarch/pdf%5C1000024.pdf
Research and opinion from the American Federation of Teachers on standards and standardized tests.
http://www.aft.org/topics/sbr/index.htm
An essay by Dr. Frank Edler reviews the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP),an alternative accreditation program associated with the Higher Learning Commission, from a faculty perspective.
http://commhum.mccneb.edu/philos/AQIP.htm
Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Cornell University. In particular, see papers by John Bishop on student testing and John Boudreau on personnel testing.
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrs/paper.html
Lawrence Rudner has set up a mock CAT to illustrate how they work, with many citations at the end for further reading.
http://edres.org/scripts/cat/catdemo.htm
Testing centers are going back to paper in some overseas regions.
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54459,00.html
Considerations in Developing and Using Computer-Adaptive Tests to Assess Second Language Proficiency
A paper by Patricia A. Dunkel, Georgia State University.
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/cat.html
Relevant resources related to NCLB, both inside ECS and from other external sources.
http://nclb2.ecs.org/